Garment

ABSTRACT

To provide a garment which can suppress stuffy feeling and heatful feeling in the garment to keep an environment in the garment comfortable and also has excellent wearing comfort and design so that it can be suitably used in a high temperature and/or high humidity environment and in various wearing scenes requiring comfort such as an office, a home and the like, it is provided that the garment made of a fabric having an air permeability of 50 to 500 cm3/cm2/s includes a blower fan unit and a path forming section for imparting directivity to wind in the garment inside the garment.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to a garment that can be suitably used in a high temperature and/or high humidity environment, and various wearing scenes requiring comfort such as an office, a home and the like.

BACKGROUND

As a global warming countermeasure, raising a set temperature of an air conditioner in the summer and lowering the set temperature of the air conditioner in the winter are one of effective means of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. However, when the temperature of the air conditioner is changed, comfort in an indoor space such as an office or a house is reduced; and particularly in the summer season, there is a problem in that the user feels uncomfortable due to a sticky feeling caused by sweating. Therefore, there has been proposed garment for supplying outside air into the garment by using a fan to maintain comfort.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2018-168485 proposes an air-conditioning garment provided with a fan for in-taking outside air, and has an outer material and a lining, the air-conditioning garment being capable of forcibly generating a flow of air in a space between the outer material and the lining. According to that proposal, the body can be effectively cooled by forcibly generating the flow of air in the space between the outer material and the lining.

In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2018-3227 proposes a garment including a garment body that covers a wearer and a tubular ventilation portion that communicates with a space inside the garment body, in which the ventilation portion includes a ventilation port that is detachably attached to a blow portion of a blower. According to that proposal, the blow portion of the blower can be attached to the tubular ventilation portion communicating with the space inside the garment, and the blower can intake air from the outside into the garment to cool the body.

According to the technique disclosed in JP '485, the body can be effectively cooled by forcibly generating the flow of air in the space between the outer material and the lining. However, since the technique has a structure in which air is stored in garment (between the outer material and the lining), it is necessary to attach a fan having a large blowing flow rate, and the garment is in a greatly inflated state, and thus, from the viewpoint of design, the technique is not suitable for wearing scenes such as an office, a home and the like.

In addition, according to the technique disclosed in JP '227, the body can be cooled by taking air from the outside into the garment by the blower attached to the tubular ventilation portion communicating with the space inside the garment. However, in that technique, it is necessary to attach the blower to a waist portion using a belt or the like, and the wearing comfort is poor due to the uncomfortable feeling. In addition, the technique uses a fabric such as a taffeta fabric through which air hardly passes so that the air flowing into the garment does not flow out through the fabric of the garment body, and the outflow of air is limited to the cuff and the collar. Therefore, at the time of operating the blower, the garment is greatly inflated, and are not suitable for wearing scenes such as an office, a home, and the like from the viewpoint of design.

It could therefore be helpful to provide a garment capable of suppressing stuffy feeling and hot feeling in the garment to keep an environment in the garment comfortable, and having excellent design and wearing comfort even in a wearing scene such as an office or a home.

SUMMARY

We found that it is possible to efficiently cool the body by locally blowing wind substantially parallel to the body with respect to a back portion having a large amount of skin moisture and an uncomplicated movement and an armpit portion having a large amount of perspiration. In addition, we found that not only the temperature in the garment but also the humidity in the garment is greatly involved in the wearing comfort, and the wearing comfort is greatly improved by suppressing the stuffy feeling in the garment.

We further found that by using a fabric having high air permeability for garment, inflation of the garment and a stuffy feeling in the garment can be suppressed, and by providing a path forming section that imparts directivity to wind in the garment inside the garment so that the body can be efficiently cooled even with a fabric having high air permeability, the garment is excellent in design and wearing comfort and suitable for wearing scenes in an office, a home and the like.

We thus provide a garment made of a fabric having an air permeability of 50 to 500 cm³/cm²/s, including a blower fan unit and a path forming section that imparts directivity to wind in the garment inside the garment.

Preferably, the path forming section includes a protrusion, and the protrusion extends in one direction with a length of 30 to 500 mm.

Preferably, the protrusion has a thickness of 3 to 30 mm.

Preferably, the path forming section is made of a fiber structure.

Preferably, the garment is made of a fabric using a hygroscopic fiber as at least a part thereof.

Preferably, a moisture absorption rate difference (ΔMR) of the hygroscopic fiber is 2.0 to 10.0%.

The stuffy feeling and hot feeling in the garment can be suppressed to keep the environment in the garment comfortable, and the wearing comfort and the design are excellent. Therefore, our garment can be suitably used in a high temperature and/or high humidity environment and various wearing scenes requiring comfort such as an office, a home and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of a path forming section in a garment describing an example. FIG. 1(a) is a front view (inside a garment), FIG. 1(b) is a side view, and FIG. 1(c) is a cross-sectional view.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view illustrating positions of a path forming section and a blower fan unit in a first example. FIG. 2(a) is a schematic view of a garment back portion, and FIG. 2(b) is a schematic view of an inside of the back portion (a broken line portion in FIG. 2(a)).

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view of an attachment angle in a protrusion.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SIGNS

-   1: Protrusion -   1 a: Protrusion -   1 b: Protrusion -   1 c: Protrusion -   2: Blower fan unit -   3: Garment fabric -   T: Thickness of protrusion -   L: Length of protrusion -   W: Width of protrusion -   4: Air inlet -   5: Air outlet -   A: Attachment angle of protrusion

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Our garment made of a fabric having an air permeability of 50 to 500 cm³/cm²/s, including a blower fan unit and a path forming section that imparts directivity to wind in the garment inside the garment. Details will be described below.

In the garment, it is important that the air permeability of the fabric is 50 to 500 cm³/cm²/s. The air permeability of the fabric refers to a value measured by the method described in examples. By setting the air permeability of the fabric to 50 cm³/cm²/s or more, preferably 70 cm³/cm²/s or more, more preferably 90 cm³/cm²/s or more, and still more preferably 100 cm³/cm²/s or more, since transpiration of sweat is excellent, it is possible to suppress a stuffy feeling during sweating and to suppress inflation of the garment. In addition, by setting the air permeability of the fabric to 500 cm³/cm²/s or less, preferably 450 cm³/cm²/s or less, more preferably 400 cm³/cm²/s or less, and still more preferably 350 cm³/cm²/s or less, the mechanical properties of the fabric are improved, the process passability and handleability at the time of manufacturing the garment are excellent, and the garment is excellent in durability at the time of use. In addition, the fabric is not too thin, and can be worn without discomfort without providing a lining.

The garment is preferably made of a fabric using a hygroscopic fiber in at least a part thereof. By using the hygroscopic fiber for the fabric, the release of moisture to the outside of the garment can be facilitated, the humidity in the vicinity of a portion using the hygroscopic fiber can be reduced, and the garment in which the stuffy feeling is further suppressed is obtained. Specific examples of the hygroscopic fibers include, but are not limited to, polyester-based hygroscopic fibers, polyamide-based fibers, polyacrylic fibers, rayon-based fibers, acetate-based fibers, cotton, hemp, silk, wool and the like. Among them, polyester-based moisture absorbing fibers and polyamide-based fibers are preferable from the viewpoint of excellent mechanical properties and durability.

A moisture absorption rate difference (ΔMR) of the hygroscopic fiber is preferably 2.0 to 10.0%. The moisture absorption rate difference (ΔMR) of the hygroscopic fiber refers to a value measured by the method described in the examples. The ΔMR means a difference between a moisture absorption rate at a temperature of 30° C. and a humidity of 90% RH assuming a temperature and a humidity in the garment after light exercise and a moisture absorption rate at a temperature of 20° C. and a humidity of 65% RH as an outside air temperature and humidity. That is, the ΔMR is an index of hygroscopicity, and as a value of ΔMR is higher, the stuffy feeling and sticky feeling during sweating are reduced, and the wearing comfort of the garment is improved. By setting the ΔMR of the hygroscopic fiber to preferably 2.0% or more, more preferably 3.0% or more, and still more preferably 4.0% or more, the stuffy feeling and sticky feeling in the garment can be reduced, and thereby the garment excellent in the wearing comfort is obtained. In addition, by setting the ΔMR of the hygroscopic fiber to preferably 10.0% or less, more preferably 9.0% or less, and still more preferably 8.0% or less, process passability and handleability at the time of manufacturing a fabric or garment are improved, and the garment excellent in the durability at the time of use is obtained.

The garment preferably has at least one air inlet for taking outside air into the garment. The air inlet is not an opening portion such as a collar, a sleeve, or a hem of a normal garment, but a portion separately provided to take outside air into the garment and has higher air permeability than that of a basic portion of the garment. With such an air inlet, the outside air can be efficiently taken into the garment so that it is possible to suppress the hot feeling and the stuffy feeling, and the garment is excellent in the wearing comfort. The number of air inlets and the positions of the air inlets are not particularly limited, and can be appropriately selected within a range that does not impair the wearing feeling, design and the like.

The air inlet provided in the garment is preferably made of a material having higher air permeability than the fabric of the basic portion (garment body) constituting the garment. By making the air permeability of the air inlet higher than that of the fabric of the garment body, the outside air can be efficiently taken into the garment. The air permeability of the air inlet is not particularly limited, but is preferably 400 cm³/cm²/s or more.

The garment may include an air outlet for discharging air in the garment to the outside of the garment. The air outlet is not an opening portion of a collar, a sleeve, a hem or the like of normal garment, but is a portion having higher air permeability than that of the basic portion of the garment separately provided to correspond to the air inlet to discharge the air in the garment to the outside of the garment. When such an air outlet is provided, ventilation in the garment can be promoted so that it is possible to suppress the hot feeling and the stuffy feeling, and the garment is excellent in the wearing comfort. The number of air outlets and the positions of the air outlets are not particularly limited, and can be appropriately selected within a range that does not impair the wearing feeling, design and the like.

The air outlet provided in the garment is preferably made of a material having higher air permeability than the fabric of the garment. By making the air permeability of the air outlet higher than that of the fabric of the garment body, the air in the garment can be efficiently discharged to the outside of the garment. The air permeability of the air outlet is not particularly limited, but is preferably 400 cm³/cm²/s or more.

The fiber used in the garment may be any of a filament, a staple, a spun yarn and the like, and may be subjected to processing such as false twisting or twisting.

The fiber used in the garment is not particularly limited in the total fineness as a multifilament, and can be appropriately selected according to the application and required characteristics, but is preferably 10 to 500 dtex. By setting the total fineness to preferably 10 dtex or more, more preferably 30 dtex or more, and still more preferably 50 dtex or more, not only yarn breakage occurs less and process passability is good, but also generation of fuzz during use is less and garment excellent in durability is obtained. In addition, by setting the total fineness to preferably 500 dtex or less, more preferably 400 dtex or less, and still more preferably 300 dtex or less, the garment excellent in the wearing comfort is obtained without impairing the flexibility of the garment.

The fiber used in the garment is not particularly limited in a single fiber fineness, and can be appropriately selected according to the application and required characteristics, but is preferably 0.5 to 4.0 dtex. The single fiber fineness refers to a value obtained by dividing the total fineness by the number of single fibers. By setting the single fiber fineness to preferably 0.5 dtex or more, more preferably 0.6 dtex or more, and still more preferably 0.8 dtex or more, not only yarn breakage occurs less and process passability is good, but also generation of fuzz during use is less and garment excellent in durability is obtained. In addition, by setting the single fiber fineness to preferably 4.0 dtex or less, more preferably 2.0 dtex or less, and still more preferably 1.5 dtex or less, the garment excellent in the wearing comfort is obtained without impairing the flexibility of the garment.

The fiber used in the garment is not particularly limited in the breaking strength of the fiber, and can be appropriately selected according to the application and required characteristics, and is preferably 2.0 to 5.0 cN/dtex from the viewpoint of the mechanical properties. By setting the breaking strength to preferably 2.0 cN/dtex or more, and more preferably 3.0 cN/dtex or more, air conditioning is achieved which generates less fuzz during use and is excellent in the durability. In addition, by setting the breaking strength to preferably 5.0 cN/dtex or less, the flexibility of the garment is not impaired, and the garment is excellent in the wearing comfort.

The fiber used in the garment is not particularly limited in the breaking elongation of the fiber, and can be appropriately selected according to the application and required characteristics, and is preferably 10 to 60% from the viewpoint of the durability. By setting the breaking elongation to preferably 10% or more, more preferably 15% or more, and still more preferably 20% or more, the wear resistance of the garment is improved, and the garment is less likely to generate fuzz during use and is excellent in the durability. In addition, by setting the breaking elongation to preferably 60% or less, more preferably 55% or less, and still more preferably 50% or less, the dimensional stability of the garment is improved, and thus the garment is excellent in the durability.

The fiber used in the garment is not particularly limited in terms of the cross-sectional shape of the fiber, and can be appropriately selected according to the application and required characteristics. The cross-section may be a perfect circular cross-section or a non-circular cross-section. Specific examples of the non-circular cross-section include, but are not limited to, multilobal, polygonal, flat, elliptical and the like.

The fabric used for the garment is not particularly limited in terms of fabric form, and may be a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a pile fabric, a nonwoven fabric or the like according to a known method. The garment may have any weave structure or knitted structure, and plain weave, twill weave, satin weave, double weave, or modified weave thereof, warp knit, weft knit, circular knit, lace knit, or modified knit thereof can be suitably employed.

The fabric used for the garment may be dyed as necessary. A dyeing method is not particularly limited, and a cheese dyeing machine, a liquid flow dyeing machine, a drum dyeing machine, a beam dyeing machine, a jigger, a high-pressure jigger and the like can be suitably employed according to a known method. The dye concentration and the dyeing temperature are not particularly limited, and a known method can be suitably employed.

It is important that the garment includes a blower fan unit including at least a fan and a motor. By taking the outside air into a space between the garment and the body by the blower fan unit, the air stagnated in the garment can be discharged from the opening such as the collar and the sleeve so that the body can be efficiently cooled.

The blower fan unit included in the garment is preferably a centrifugal fan or a blower fan in which the attached fan blows air in the direction substantially perpendicular to the fan axial direction. By using the centrifugal fan or the blower fan, the outside air having directivity in the direction substantially parallel to the body can be easily blown, and the body can be efficiently cooled. Furthermore, by blowing air in the direction substantially parallel to the body, the garment is less likely to be inflated as compared with an example where the air is blown in the direction substantially perpendicular to the body, and thus the garment excellent in the design is obtained.

In the blower fan unit included in the garment, the fan preferably has an outer diameter of 10 to 60 mm. By setting the outer diameter of the fan to preferably 10 mm or more, more preferably 15 mm or more, and still more preferably 20 mm or more, a wind volume sufficient to send outside air into the garment can be obtained. In addition, by setting the outer diameter of the fan to preferably 60 mm or less, more preferably 55 mm or less, and still more preferably 50 mm or less, noise at the time of fan driving is reduced, and a blower fan unit body can be made smaller so that the blower fan unit with less discomfort at the time of wearing is obtained.

The blower fan unit included in the garment preferably has a thickness of 3 to 20 mm in the fan axial direction. By setting the thickness in the fan axial direction to preferably 3 mm or more, more preferably 4 mm or more, and still more preferably 5 mm or more, a wind volume sufficient to send outside air into the garment can be obtained. In addition, by setting the thickness in the fan axial direction to preferably 20 mm or less, more preferably 17 mm or less, and still more preferably 15 mm or less, since the blower unit body can be thinned, discomfort at the time of wearing is reduced, and the garment excellent in the wearing comfort is obtained.

The blower fan unit included in the garment is preferably housed in an example having an air inlet and a blowing port to prevent the garment and fingertips from being caught in the fan. A built-in object housed in the example is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include an example in which only a fan and a motor are housed, and an example in which a battery, a power switch and the like are housed in addition to the fan and the motor. When the battery or the power switch is not housed in the example, the battery or the power switch is preferably connected to the blower fan unit via wiring such as a power cable having connection terminals at both ends.

The blower fan unit included in the garment preferably has a weight of 200 g or less. By setting the weight to preferably 200 g or less, more preferably 100 g or less, and still more preferably 50 g or less, it becomes difficult to feel a weight feeling when worn, and a garment excellent in the wearing comfort is obtained.

It is important that the garment includes a path forming section for imparting the directivity to the wind in the garment inside the garment. The path forming section for imparting the directivity to the wind in the garment is a portion forming a ventilation path that regulates the flow of the wind blown into the garment from the blower fan unit in a specific direction. We found that by providing a path forming section imparting the directivity to wind in the garment inside the garment in addition to providing a blower fan unit in the garment made of a fabric having a certain air permeability, the garment can be suitably used in various wearing scenes such as an office, a home and the like. Usually, when a blower fan unit is provided in the garment having high air permeability, it is possible to suppress inflation of the garment and a stuffy feeling in the garment, but it is difficult to obtain a garment excellent in the wearing comfort since the wind escapes to the outside of the garment before the air reaches the body portion where should be cooled. In view of this problem, as described above, by providing the path forming section for imparting the directivity to the wind in the garment inside the garment and actively forming the ventilation path, the wind can be guided to the body portion where should be cooled, and the design and the wearing comfort are successfully dramatically improved.

Hereinafter, the path forming section will be described with reference to FIG. 1 . FIG. 1(a) is a front view of a path forming section in a garment showing an example, FIG. 1(b) is a side view thereof, and FIG. 1(c) is a cross-sectional view thereof.

In the garment illustrated in FIG. 1 , a protrusion 1 as a path forming section extends in one direction. That is, the protrusions 1 a and 1 b arranged at the same interval as a width of a blowing port of a blower fan unit 2 are attached to the garment fabric 3, and the protrusions 1 a and 1 b are continuously provided substantially in the air blowing direction of the blower fan unit 2. The path forming section does not necessarily need to be formed of a convex path material as long as the directivity can be imparted to the wind in the garment. For example, a garment fabric may be sewn into a bag shape in a cross section, and the inside of the garment fabric may be filled with a stuffing material to form a protrusion, thereby forming a path forming section. In addition, the number of protrusions constituting the path forming section is not particularly limited, but from the viewpoint of restricting the wind blown from the blower fan unit and forming the ventilation path, the number of protrusions may be two or more of the protrusions depending on the size of the garment.

It is important that the protrusion 1 extending in one direction has a length L of 30 to 500 mm. The length L of the protrusion refers to a value measured by the method described in examples. By setting the length L of the protrusion to 30 mm or more, preferably 50 mm or more, and more preferably 70 mm or more, the air and moisture in the garment can be efficiently discharged to the outside of the garment, and the garment with suppressed stuffy feeling and hot feeling is obtained. In addition, by setting the length L of the protrusion to 500 mm or less, preferably 450 mm or less, and more preferably 400 mm, a garment with less discomfort due to contact between the body and the protrusion and the excellent wearing comfort is obtained.

The protrusion 1 formed on the garment preferably has a thickness T of 3 to 20 mm. The thickness T of the protrusion refers to a value measured by the method described in examples. By setting the thickness T of the protrusion to preferably 3 mm or more, more preferably 5 mm or more, and still more preferably 7 mm or more, a ventilation path can be formed in the garment so that the air in the garment can be efficiently replaced, and the garment excellent in the wearing comfort is obtained. In addition, by setting the thickness T of the protrusion to preferably 20 mm or less, more preferably 17 mm or less, and still more preferably 15 mm or less, it is possible to obtain a garment having less discomfort due to contact between the body and the protrusion, excellent wearing comfort, and excellent design without floating the protrusion in appearance.

The protrusion 1 formed on the garment preferably has a width W of 5 to 30 mm. The width W of the protrusion is a width of each protrusion, and refers to a value measured by the method described in examples. By setting the width W of the protrusion to preferably 5 mm or more, more preferably 8 mm or more, and still more preferably 10 mm or more, it is possible to suppress the protrusion from falling due to the movement of the body and to maintain the shape of the ventilation path. In addition, by setting the width W of the protrusion to preferably 30 mm or less, more preferably 25 mm or less, and still more preferably 20 mm or less, a contact area with the body is reduced, and the discomfort at the time of wearing can be suppressed.

In addition, when the protrusion 1 formed in the garment includes a plurality of protrusions, the interval between the adjacent protrusions may be kept constant as illustrated in FIG. 1 , but may be changed depending on the position. FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view of attachment angles of a plurality of protrusions. When the interval between the adjacent protrusions 1 a and 1 b is changed depending on the position, as illustrated in FIG. 3 , it is preferable to attach the protrusions 1 a and 1 b such that the interval is widened as it is separated from the blowing port, and the attachment angle A (angle formed by the adjacent protrusions) is preferably 20° or less. By setting the attachment angle of the protrusion to preferably 20° or less, more preferably 10° or less, and still more preferably 5° or less, the directivity can be imparted to the wind in the garment so that the body can be efficiently cooled. The attachment angle when the adjacent protrusions 1 a and 1 b are attached in parallel is 0°, and the attachment angle when the interval between the adjacent protrusions 1 a and 1 b decreases as the distance from the blowing port increases is negative. Therefore, the lower limit of the attachment angle of the protrusion is preferably 0°.

The path forming section provided in the garment is preferably made of a fiber structure. Since the path forming section is made of the fiber structure, there is little uncomfortable feeling at a portion in contact with the skin, and since the path forming section has flexibility, the path forming section can follow the movement of the body, and the garment is excellent in the wearing comfort. As the fiber structure, not only a normal woven or knitted fabric such as a double raschel, but also a nonwoven fabric, a braid, a lace, a rope, or a composite material thereof may be used.

The positions of the blower fan unit and the path forming section included in the garment can be appropriately selected according to the form and wearing scene of the garment, and are preferably provided such that air flows from the lower portion to the upper portion in the back portion and the armpit portion. In the human body, locally cooling and ventilating a back portion having a large amount of skin moisture and an uncomplicated movement and an armpit portion having a large amount of perspiration is an effective means for efficiently cooling the body, and is also preferable from the viewpoint of promoting a chimney effect which is a phenomenon in which air warmed by the human body moves from a lower portion to an upper portion in the garment.

The form of the garment is not particularly limited, and may be either an upper wear or a bottom wear, the upper wear may be either a long sleeve or a short sleeve, and the bottom wear may be either a long hem or a short hem. The upper wear means a garment worn on the upper body, and the bottom wear means a garment worn on the lower body. Specific examples of the upper wear include, but are not limited to, underwear such as an inner shirt, a tank top, and a camisole, general garment such as a T-shirt, a polo shirt, a cut and sew, a pajama, a shirt, a blouson, and a work wear, and sports garment such as a sports inner shirt and a sports shirt. Specific examples of the bottom wear include, but are not limited to, underwear such as inner pants, general garment such as a slack, pants, a skirt, a pajama, and a work wear, and sports garment such as sports pants.

Since the stuffy feeling and the hot feeling in the garment can be suppressed to keep the environment in the garment comfortable, and the wearing comfort and the design are excellent, it can be suitably used in a high temperature and/or high humidity environment and various wearing scenes requiring comfort scenes such as an office, a home and the like.

EXAMPLES

Hereinafter, our garments will be described in more detail with reference to examples. Each characteristic value in Examples was obtained by the following method.

A. Air Permeability

The air permeability was calculated according to JIS L 1096: 2010 (Testing methods for woven and knitted fabrics) 8.26.1 (Method A) using the fabrics obtained in examples as samples. The measurement was performed five times per sample, and the average value thereof was taken as the air permeability (cm³/cm²/s).

B. Moisture Absorption Rate Difference (ΔMR) of Hygroscopic Fiber

Fibers constituting the garment were used as a sample, first dried with hot air at 60° C. for 30 minutes, and then allowed to stand for 24 hours in a thermo-hygrostat LHU-123 manufactured by ESPEC CORP. moistened at a temperature of 20° C. and a humidity of 65% RH, and a weight W1 (g) of the sample was measured. Thereafter, the sample was allowed to stand for 24 hours in a thermo-hygrostat humidified at a temperature of 30° C. and a humidity of 90% RH, and a weight W2 (g) of the sample was measured. Thereafter, the sample was hot-air dried at 105° C. for 2 hours, and a weight W3 (g) of the sample after absolute drying was measured. A moisture absorption rate MR1 (%) when the sample was left to stand in an atmosphere at a temperature of 20° C. and a humidity of 65% RH for 24 hours from an absolute dry condition was calculated by the following formula using the weights W1 and W3 of the sample, a moisture absorption rate MR2 (%) when the sample was left to stand in an atmosphere at a temperature of 30° C. and a humidity of 90% RH for 24 hours from an absolute dry condition was calculated by the following formula using the weights W2 and W3 of the sample, and then the moisture absorption rate difference (ΔMR) was calculated by the following formula:

MR1(%)={(W1−W3)/W3}×100

MR2(%)={(W2−W3)/W3}×100

Moisture absorption rate difference (ΔMR)(%)=MR2−MR1.

The measurement was performed five times per sample, and the average value thereof was taken as the moisture absorption rate difference (ΔMR).

C. Length L of Protrusion, Width W of Protrusion, Thickness T of Protrusion

The length L, the width W, and the thickness T of the protrusion formed on the garment were measured using a caliper in a state where the garment fabric was not wrinkled or loosened. The length L (mm) of the protrusion and the width W (mm) of the protrusion were measured at 3 points per level according to the methods described in JIS L 1096: 2010 (Testing methods for woven and knitted fabrics) 8.2.1 (Method A) and 8.2.2 (Method A), and the average thereof was calculated by rounding off to one decimal place. The thickness T of the protrusion was calculated by measuring 3 points per level at a pressure of 0.7 kPa for knit according to the thick-ness measurement method described in JIS L 1096: 2010 (Testing methods for woven and knitted fabrics) 8.4 (Method A), and the average thereof was calculated by rounding off to one decimal place.

D. Comfort (Hot and Stuffy Feeling)

The evaluation of the comfort was performed on 20 subjects wearing the garment produced in Examples and Comparative Examples. The subjects, with their garment worn, evaluated the situation inside the garment after sitting and resting on a chair in a room at a temperature of 30° C. and a humidity of 90% RH for 1 hour, which is assumed to be an indoor environment in summer where cooling is not effective. An average score of scores given by 20 subjects was calculated, and an average score of 3.0 points or more was regarded as pass, where 5 points were given to “no hot feeling or stuffiness was felt,” 4 points were given to “almost no hot feeling or stuffiness was felt,” 3 points were given to “hot feeling or stuffiness was slightly felt,” 2 points were given to “hot feeling or stuffiness was felt” and 1 point was given to “hot feeling or stuffiness was strongly felt.”

E. Wearing Feeling

The evaluation of the wearing feeling was performed on 20 subjects wearing the garment produced in Examples and Comparative Examples. An average score of the scores given by 20 subjects was calculated, and the average score of 3.0 points or more was regarded as pass, where 5 points were given to “no discomfort was felt at all due to the path forming section or the blower fan unit,” 4 points were given to “almost no discomfort was felt due to the path forming section or the blower fan unit,” 3 points were given to “discomfort was slightly felt due to the path forming section or the blower fan unit,” 2 points were given to “discomfort was felt due to the path forming section or the blower fan unit” and 1 point was given to “discomfort was strongly felt due to the path forming section or the blower fan unit.”

F. Design

For the design, a mannequin was made to wear the garment produced in Examples and Comparative Examples, and 20 subjects evaluated the appearance. An average point of scores given by 20 subjects was calculated, and the average score of 3.0 points or more was regarded as pass, where 5 points were given to “the blower fan unit is inconspicuous and can be worn without problems in the office,” 4 points were given to “the blower fan unit is hardly noticeable, and can be worn without problems in the office,” 3 points were given to “although the blower fan unit is conspicuous, it can be worn in the office,” 2 points were given to “since the blower fan unit is conspicuous, there is resistance to wearing in the office” and 1 point was given to “since the blower fan unit is conspicuous, there is strong resistance to wearing in the office.”

Example 1

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view illustrating positions of a path forming section and a blower fan unit in Example 1. FIG. 2(a) is a schematic view of a garment back portion, and FIG. 2(b) is a schematic view of an inside of the back portion.

Using a false twist yarn of 66 dtex-72f of hygroscopic nylon fiber having ΔMR of 4.2%, a fabric with a dappled structure having an air permeability of 150 cm³/cm²/s was knitted by a single circular knitting machine, and the fabric was then sewn to produce a short sleeve polo shirt having a length of 65 cm. Thereafter, a hole of 30 mm in length×80 mm in width was made at a position 250 to 280 mm above the hem of the back body to be at the center in the left-right direction, and a nylon mesh fabric having an air permeability of 550 cm³/cm²/s was attached to the hole to form an air inlet 4. In addition, a hole of 30 mm in length×100 mm in width was made at a position 30 to 60 mm below the collar of the back body to be at the center in the left-right direction, and a nylon mesh fabric having an air permeability of 550 cm³/cm²/s was attached to the hole to form an air outlet 5.

As a path forming section, a protrusion body was formed using a double raschel fabric having a thickness T of 10 mm, a length L of 300 mm, and a width W of 15 mm; a surface structure and a back surface structure of the fabric were knitted from a false twist yarn of 167 dtex-48f of polyester fibers, and a binding structure of a middle layer was knitted from a 440 dtex monofilament of polyester elastomer fibers. Then, the double-raschel fabric was attached inside the back body of the short-sleeve polo shirt so that the vertical direction of the garment coincided with the length direction of the protrusion body to obtain a protrusion 1. Three protrusion bodies were attached in parallel at an interval of 50 mm in the width direction so that the lower end of the protrusion body coincided with the upper end of the air inlet 4 and was symmetric with the left and right center line of the garment. Thereafter, two blower fan units 2 having a centrifugal fan with an outer diameter of 30 mm and a thickness of 5 mm were attached to the inside of the garment at an interval of 20 mm to overlap with the air inlet 4 with the blowing outlet facing the upper portion of the garment.

After an external power was connected to the blower fan unit 2 of the obtained garment by a cable, a blowing flow rate was set to 0.03 m²/min/piece, and a wearing test was performed. The obtained evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

Example 2, Comparative Examples 1 and 2

A garment was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the air permeability of the garment was 320 cm³/cm²/s in Example 2, 40 cm³/cm²/s in Comparative Example 1, and 550 cm³/cm²/s in Comparative Example 2. The obtained evaluation results of the garment are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Example 3

A garment was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the blower fan unit was not attached. The obtained evaluation results of the garment are shown in Table 1.

Examples 3 and 4

A garment was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the length L of the protrusion was 100 mm in Example 3 and 25 mm in Example 4. The obtained evaluation results of the garment are shown in Table 2.

Example 5

A garment was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the thickness T of the protrusion was 20 mm. The obtained evaluation results of the garment are shown in Table 2.

Comparative Example 4

A garment was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the path forming section was not provided. The obtained evaluation results of the garment are shown in Table 2.

Examples 6 and 7

A garment was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that, as a material of the path forming section, a three-dimensional shaped nonwoven fabric made of polyester having a basis weight of 50 g/m² in Example 6 and a urethane foam having an apparent density of 20 kg/m³ in Example 7 were used to form a protrusion. The obtained evaluation results of the garment are shown in Table 3.

Comparative Example 5

A garment was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that 13 polyethylene columnar bodies each having a 10 mm square were disposed at intervals of 20 mm in the vertical direction of the garment and arranged in 5 rows in the width direction of the garment. The obtained evaluation results of the garment are shown in Table 3.

Examples 8 and 9

A garment was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 except that a false twist yarn of 66 dtex-72f made of polyester having a ΔMR of 0.2% in Example 8 and a false twist yarn of 66 dtex-72f made of hygroscopic polyester having a ΔMR of 3.1% in Example 9 were used as the fibers constituting the garment. The obtained evaluation results of the garment are shown in Table 4.

TABLE 1 Example Example Comparative Comparative Comparative 1 2 Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Material of garment Hygroscopic nylon Air permeability 150 320 40 550 150 [cm³/cm²/s] ΔMR [%] 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 Presence or Presence Presence Presence Presence Absence absence of fan Material of Double raschel path material Length L of 300 300 300 300 300 protrusion [mm] Width W of 15 15 15 15 15 protrusion [mm] Thickness T of 10 10 10 10 10 protrusion [mm] Comfort [Point] 4.4 4.7 2.4 2.8 2.4 Wearing feeling 4.2 4.3 3.6 4.0 4.2 [Point] Design [Point] 4.4 4.0 3.2 2.5 4.4

TABLE 2 Example Example Example Comparative 3 4 5 Example 4 Material of garment Hygroscopic nylon Air permeability 150 150 150 150 [cm³/cm²/s] ΔMR [%] 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.2 Presence or Presence Presence Presence Presence absence of fan Material of Double raschel Absence path material Length L of 100 25 300 — protrusion [mm] Width W of 15 15 15 — protrusion [mm] Thickness T of 10 10 20 — protrusion [mm] Comfort [Point] 3.7 3.1 4.3 2.5 Wearing feeling 4.2 4.4 4.0 4.5 [Point] Design [Point] 4.4 4.6 3.3 4.7

TABLE 3 Example Example Comparative 6 7 Example 5 Material of garment Hygroscopic nylon Air permeability 150 150 150 [cm³/cm²/s] ΔMR [%] 4.2 4.2 4.2 Presence or Presence Presence Presence absence of fan Material of Three-dimensional Urethane Polyethylene path material shaped nonwoven foam columnar fabric body Length L of 300 300 10 protrusion [mm] Width W of 15 15 10 protrusion [mm] Thickness T of 10 10 10 protrusion [mm] Comfort [Point] 4.0 4.4 2.4 Wearing feeling 4.0 3.2 3.0 [Point] Design [Point] 4.5 3.9 3.8

TABLE 4 Example Example 8 9 Material of garment Polyester Hygroscopic polyester Air permeability 150 150 [cm³/cm²/s] ΔMR [%] 0.2 3.1 Presence or Presence Presence absence of fan Material of Double raschel path material Length L of 300 300 protrusion [mm] Width W of 15 15 protrusion [mm] Thickness T of 10 10 protrusion [mm] Comfort [Point] 3.4 3.9 Wearing feeling 4.0 4.2 [Point] Design [Point] 4.4 4.4

Since the garment obtained in Examples 1 to 9 had good results in all of the evaluations of comfort, wearing feeling, and design, the garment was suitably used in wearing scenes in offices, homes and the like.

On the other hand, in the garment obtained in Comparative Example 1, since the air permeability of the fabric to be used was low, it was not possible to suppress the hot feeling and the stuffy feeling in the garment, and thereby the garment was inferior in the comfort. In the garment obtained in Comparative Example 2, since the air permeability of the fabric to be used was high, the wind passed through the garment and did not reach the back portion, and the garment was thin and transparent, the garment was inferior in the comfort and the design. Since the garment obtained in Comparative Example 3 does not have the blower fan unit, it was not possible to suppress the hot feeling and the stuffy feeling in the garment, and the garment was inferior in the comfort. In addition, since the garment obtained in Comparative Example 4 was not provided with the path forming section, the portion of the body where should be cooled was not exposed to the wind, and the hot feeling and the stuffy feeling in the garment was not able to be suppressed so that the garment was inferior in the comfort. The garment obtained in Comparative Example 5 had a large number of protrusions, but the protrusions were not continuously formed, the wind blown from the blower fan unit diffused in the garment. The hot feeling and the stuffy feeling in the garment was not able to be suppressed so that the garment was inferior in the comfort.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Since the stuffy feeling and the hot feeling in the garment can be suppressed to keep the environment in the garment comfortable, and the wearing comfort and the design are excellent, it can be suitably used in a high temperature and/or high humidity environment and various wearing scenes requiring comfort such as office and home. 

1-6. (canceled)
 7. A garment made of a fabric having an air permeability of 50 to 500 cm³/cm²/s, comprising: a blower fan unit; and a path forming section to impart directivity to wind in the garment inside the garment.
 8. The garment according to claim 7, wherein the path forming section includes a protrusion, and the protrusion extends in one direction with a length of 30 to 500 mm.
 9. The garment according to claim 8, wherein the protrusion has a thickness of 3 to 20 mm.
 10. The garment according to claim 7, wherein the path forming section is formed of a fiber structure.
 11. The garment according to claim 7, wherein the garment is formed of a fabric using hygroscopic fibers in at least a part thereof.
 12. The garment according to claim 11, wherein the hygroscopic fibers have a moisture absorption rate difference (ΔMR) of 2.0 to 10.0%. 